Benjamin Rush "Ben" Milam (October 20, 1788 – December 7, 1835) was an American colonist of Mexican Texas and a military leader and hero of the Texas Revolution. A native of what is now Kentucky, Milam fought beside American interests during the Mexican War of Independence and later joined the Texians in their own fight for independence, for which he assumed a leadership role. Persuading the weary Texians not to back down during the Siege of Béxar, Milam was killed in action while leading an assault into the city that eventually resulted in the Mexican Army's surrender. Milam County, Texas and the town of Milam are named in his honor, as are many other placenames and civic works throughout Texas. Early life Ben Milam was born in Frankfort, Kentucky on October 20, 1788, when Kentucky was still considered part of Virginia. He was the fifth of six children born to Moses Milam and his wife, Elizabeth Pattie Boyd. Raised in the remote western frontier of the early United States, Milam had little formal schooling. As a young man, he enlisted as a private in the 8th Regiment of the Kentucky Militia and eventually was commissioned a lieutenant. He served in the War of 1812. Early years in Texas In 1818, after learning of the trading opportunities with the Native Americans living along the upper Red River, Milam traveled from Kentucky to Spanish Texas to trade with the Comanche. While there, he met David G. Burnet, who at the time was living with the Indians in an attempt to recover from a case of tuberculosis. In New Orleans in 1819, Milam met José Félix Trespalacios and James Long, who intended to lead a filibustering expedition to Texas to help Mexican revolutionaries in their ongoing fight for independence from Spain. Milam decided to join the pair on what became known as the Long Expedition. The expedition captured Nacogdoches in the summer of 1819 but fell apart when confronted by a Spanish army. With help from Milam, Long regrouped his forces near Galveston the following year. By 1821, Milam had broke with Long's new expedition. While Long marched to Presidio La Bahía, Milam and Trespalacios traveled to Veracruz and Mexico City; both parties met a hostile reception and were quickly imprisoned. While in prison, Long was mysteriously shot and killed by a guard, and Milam came to believe that the murder had been